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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 6558 (as amended by House “A”)*
AN ACT CONCERNING ISSUES RELATING TO THE PROVISION
OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND SERVICES IN
CONNECTICUT.
SUMMARY
This bill allows the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) commissioner
to issue up to seven family child care home licenses to a person or
group of people who provide child care services in a commissioner-
approved space provided through a partnership with an association,
organization, corporation, institution, or public or private agency (§ 1).
Under current law, family child care home licenses are for child care
services provided in the licensee’s private home.
The bill also does the following:
1. allows family child care home licensees to use an OEC-
approved substitute staff member to provide more than an hour
of child care under specific circumstances (§ 1),
2. creates a 13-member early childhood workforce development
needs task force (§ 2),
3. expands eligibility for Care 4 Kids child care subsidies to
include people enrolled or pa rticipating in certain
postsecondary education and workforce training programs (§
3),
4. requires the OEC commissioner to add new categories of
parents and caretakers to the list of people who must receive
preference in the Care 4 Kids priority intake and eligibility
system (§ 3), and
5. requires OEC to allow Care 4 Kids -eligible families to 2021HB-06558-R010774-BA.DOCX
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participate in a state-contracted child care center program in
FYs 22 and 23 (§ 4).
*House Amendment “A” (1) adds Danbury to the list of
municipalities where the OEC commissioner may issue a family child
care home license to a partnership between a child care provider and
space provider, (2) adds the provisions about the use of substitute staff
in family child care homes, (3) adds the provisions about Care 4 Kids
eligibility and participant access to state-contracted child care centers,
and (4) makes technical changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2021
§ 1 — FAMILY CHILD CARE HOME LICENSE
License Terms and Applicant Eligibility
These licenses must be issued in accordance with existing law
(unless otherwise specified under the bill) and may be issued in FYs
22-26 for up to one space in each of the following cities: Bridgeport,
Danbury, Hartford, New Britain, New Haven, Stamford, o r
Waterbury. They expire on June 30, 2026, subject to the commissioner’s
authority to suspend or revoke them under the law (see
BACKGROUND).
Application Process
The bill requires prospective licensees for the seven family child
care home licenses to submit the following items as part of their
licensure application: (1) a copy of the current fire marshal certificate
of compliance with the Fire Safety Code and (2) written verification of
compliance with the State Building Code, local zoning and building
requirements, and local health ordinances. Additionally, the bill allows
the OEC commissioner to (1) require applicants to comply with
additional conditions related to the health and safety of children to be
served in these facilities and (2) waive any requirement that does not
apply to these facilities.
§ 1 — SUBSTITUTE STAFF IN FAMILY CHILD CARE HOMES
The bill allows family child care home licensees to use an OEC- 2021HB-06558-R010774-BA.DOCX
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approved substitute staff member to provide child care for more than
one hour while the licensee attends a medical appointment, receives
medical treatment, or completes education or training. The bill
specifies that using a substitute staff member for these purposes does
not constitute a transfer or franchise of the family child care home. The
licensee must (1) provide advance notice to the children’s parents and
guardians about the dates and times the substitute will be providing
child care and (2) continue to maintain control of day-to-day
operations of the family child care home.
§ 2 — EARLY CHILDHOOD WORKFORCE DE VELOPMENT TASK
FORCE
Scope
The bill requires the task force to examine the following:
1. ways to encourage equity-based practices in early childhood
education preparation and professional development;
2. ways to address inequity in access to employment opportunities
and compensation in the early childhood workforce;
3. the feasibility of creating a new, co-authored license that would
offer multiple levels of flexibility to address the range of ages,
settings, and roles in the early childhood field, including a
professional continuum for assistants; lead teachers; generalists;
and specialists such as early interventionist, mental health,
integrated special education, and rehabilitation therapies; and
4. workforce demands in the state related to the need for early
childhood educators providing child care services for infants
and toddlers to age six or eight.
Additionally, the bill requires the task force to make
recommendations about the following topics:
1. legislation for early childhood educator prepara tion
requirements;
2. creating a new early childhood teacher license or credential 2021HB-06558-R010774-BA.DOCX
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jointly issued by OEC and the State Department of Education
(SDE);
3. developing a unifying framework for early childhood educator
preparation, in accordance with the National Association for the
Education of Young Children and the Council for Exceptional
Children – Division of Early Childhood, to offer definition of
levels for competencies and compensation such as (a)
professional development and alternative routes for aides or
classroom assistants; (b) associate degree preparation and
alternative routes for assistant teachers; (c) bachelor’s degree
preparation or post-baccalaureate work for head teachers; (d)
bachelor’s degree preparation, post-baccalaureate work, or
graduate degree attainment for specialists; and (e) alignment
with competencies to address adult learners, experience in the
field, as well as capacity in languages, community content, and
cultural norms;
4. methods for increasing compensation related to competency
and degree attainment that will work across all sectors of the
early care and education sector, including subsidized and
parent fee supported programs; and
5. early childhood workforce development and job opportunity
creation.
Membership
Table 1 describes the required expertise for the 13 task force
members and their respective appointing authorities. The bill allows
any members appointed by legislative leaders to be General Assembly
members.
Table 1: Task Force Membership
Appointing Authority Member(s) and Required Expertise
House speaker
Early childhood education professor at a
Connecticut public higher education
institution
2021HB-06558-R010774-BA.DOCX
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Representative of a school readiness
program or state-funded child care
center
Senate president pro tempore
Community college faculty member
Representative of a private child care
provider that is not receiving state
financial assistance
House majority leader
Representative of the Capitol Region
Education Council regional education
service center
Senate majority leader
Family child care home operator or
representative of an organization that
represents or supports family child care
homes
House minority leader
Representative of the Connecticut Early
Childhood Alliance
Senate minority leader
Representative of a state or national
early childhood accrediting organization
N/A
OEC commissioner, or the
commissioner’s designee
N/A
SDE commissioner, or the
commissioner’s designee
N/A
Co-chairs of the Connecticut Consortium
for the Advancement of Early Childhood
Educators
N/A
State Education Resource Center
executive director, or the director’s
designee
The bill requires the above appointments to be made by July 31,
2021, and appointing authorities to fill any vacancies that may arise.
Leadership, Staff, and Meetings
Under the bill, the House speaker’s and Senate president pro
tempore’s appointees must serve as the task force chairpersons, and
the Education Committee administrative staff must serve as task for
staff. The chairpersons must schedule the first meeting by August 30,
2021. 2021HB-06558-R010774-BA.DOCX
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The task force must report its findings to the Education Committee
by January 1, 2023. It must terminate on the date it submits the report
or on January 1, 2023, whichever is later.
§ 3 — EXPANDED CARE 4 KIDS ELIGIBILITY
The bill expands eligibility for Care 4 Kids child care subsidies to
people who are enrolled or participating in any of the following:
1. a public or private college or university,
2. a private occupational school,
3. a job training or employment program administered by a
regional workforce development board,
4. a Department of Labor (DOL)-administered apprenticeship
program,
5. an alternate route to certification program,
6. an adult education program or other high school equivalency
program, or
7. a local Even Start program or other adult education program
approved by the OEC commissioner.
The bill specifies that these groups are only eligible for and may
receive Care 4 Kids benefits if federal COVID-19 related relief funds
are available (i.e., the Coronavirus Response and Relied Supplemental
Appropriations Act and the American Response Plan).
Additionally, it requires the OEC commissioner to add new
categories to the list of people who must receive preference in the Care
4 Kids priority intake and eligibility system. The categories are parents
or caretakers who are:
1. participating in a DOL apprenticeship program,
2. enrolled in an adult education program or other high school
equivalency program, 2021HB-06558-R010774-BA.DOCX
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3. participating in a job training or employment program
administered by a regional workforce development board, or
4. enrolled in a public or private college or university.
BACKGROUND
License Suspension and Revocation
The OEC commissioner may suspend or revoke a family child care
home license if the family child care home’s owner or operator, an
assistant or substitute staff member or employee, or any household
member age 16 or older has a criminal history containing felony
convictions for, among other things, (1) use of physical force, (2) risk of
injury to or impairing morals of children, (3) abandonment of young
children, (4) illegal drug sale or possession, (5) sexual assault, or (6)
any felony where the victim is a minor (CGS § 19a-87e).
COMMITTEE ACTION
Education Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute Change of Reference - APP
Yea 38 Nay 0 (03/15/2021)
Appropriations Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 50 Nay 0 (04/21/2021)